1. Technical Field
Generally, the invention relates to tongs. Particularly, the invention relates to tongs for handling and grasping food. Specifically, the invention relates to tongs having top and bottom plates which pivot between open and closed positions and which include contiguous rows of serrated teeth extending across opposed surfaces of the plates.
2. Background Information
Food handling tongs are used to grasp food and allow a user to move the food without using his or her fingers. For example, food being cooked on a grill or in a frying pan is too hot to move with a user's fingers or with a short object such as a fork. Food handling tongs allow the user to grasp the hot food while preventing the user from burning his or her hands or fingers on the hot grill or pan. Another benefit to using food handling tongs is that the tongs prevent a user from passing germs from his or her fingers and hands to the food article or to adjacent food articles.
Examples of food handling tongs are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,533 which discloses food handling tongs having a pair of arms interconnected in a scissor-like manner. A grasping element extends from one end of each arm and a handle element extends from the other end of each arm. The grasping elements are curved towards one another and have drainage openings formed therein. The free end of each grasping element includes a pair of pincers for grasping relatively small articles. The handle elements extend generally perpendicular to the arms and are formed with finger receiving openings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,569 discloses tongs for grasping food which include a pair of arms interconnected in a scissors-like manner. A first end of one arm includes a ladle bowl and a first end of the other arm includes a spoon, a plurality of spaced fingers extend upwardly from a side wall of the ladle bowl. When the tongs are closed, the spoon enters into the ladle bowl within the spaced fingers to securely retain the food therebetween. A pair of finger receiving openings are formed on the second end of the arms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,009 discloses food handling tongs having upper and lower plates formed with a plurality of circular apertures surrounded by countersunk frusto conicle portions. The plates are attached to a pair of arms which are interconnected in a scissors-like manner. A finger receiving opening is formed at an end of each arm opposite to that of the plates. The apertures allow liquids, such as grease, to drain from the food article being handled by the tongs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,628 discloses food handling tongs with serrated blade slots. The tongs include a pair of arms interconnected in a scissors-like manner. A food gripping plate is attached to one end of each arm and finger receiving handles are formed on the other end of each arm. A pair of serrated teeth defining slots is formed in each plate whereby the teeth of each slot engages the food article being handled by the tongs.
U.S. Pat. No. Des.-341,997 discloses food tongs having a pair of spaced arms biased towards an open position. A circular member is attached to an end of one arm and a semi-circular member is attached to an end of the second arm.
Although these prior art tongs are adequate for the purpose for which they are intended, these prior art tongs fail to provide parallel rows of serrated gripping teeth along the entire surface of the tong plates which bite into the food article being held therebetween and prevent the food article from slipping from its engagement with the tongs. Several of these prior art tongs are specifically designed to handle food articles of a particular shape or texture and are unsuitable for general use.
Therefore, the need exists for improved food handling tongs which provide a pair of plates having a plurality of parallel rows of serrated teeth extending along the entire surface of the plates, which are suitable for general use including handling food articles such as hamburgers and the like, and which prevent the food articles from sliding from their engagement between the plates.